Backlog. I didn’t have too much of this sample, and I liked the idea of it, though was a little underwhelmed. This tea is greener than the usual big leaf and resembled the recent greener styles of Dancong. Yes, the tea was viscous and prominently floral, but a little bit underwhelming. I alternated between 15 sec to 30 sec increments until longer steeps hovering around 2 minutes at the end.
Here’s my impression: I didn’t really get aromatic Nag Champa vibes, though I got creamy, spicy, flower stems, grass, vanilla, soybean, almond, and that’s about it with some floral astringency and bitterness.
Maybe I didn’t brew it right-who knows. I personally recommend their Wuyi collection like their version of Panlan Robe or Qilan if you are getting into their oolong teas over this one. I highly enjoyed Lin’s Red more, and liked Lin’s Duck more, which surprised me because I usually prefer lighter teas. I still recommend Hugo because they have gotten some impressive experimental teas from their collaboration work, and this one is good if you are looking into what a greener dancong can taste like. Reading their description, this really is more of an experts tea. Their warning for people who like fresh spring tea is a good one, and I definitely get a scented salt or saline quality overall.
Flavors: Almond, Astringent, Cream, Creamy, Floral, Green, Green Beans, Plant Stems, Salt, Snow Peas, Soap, Soybean, Spices, Thick, Vanilla
